


Heaven Only Knows

by FieryArtemis



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Gen, Past Lives, Resurrection, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-07 16:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7722469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FieryArtemis/pseuds/FieryArtemis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Four teenagers, all from very different parts of the world, find themselves inexplicably drawn to scenic Tokyo Tower on the same day. These same four teenagers are about to remember a shared history from long ago and a connection they hadn't even realized was missing. A heroic Shitennou AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First foray into Sailor Moon fanfiction. I've always been intrigued by the Shitennou. They were characters who didn't receive a lot of development. We know that they were Endymion's personal guard and court. We know that they were the equals and contemporaries to the Senshi. An early idea had them as the love interest of the Senshi but it was discarded later down the road. I've seen some other amazing writers put their own spin on the Shitennou and I wanted to try my hand at it. I lay before you the beginning of an AU where the Shitennou remained loyal Endymion but were killed by Beryl before the major fight broke out. It's kind of a what if the Shitennou were reborn, resumed their roles as guardians, and possibly met Usagi before she ever came into contact with Luna or the rest of the Senshi. That part, however, doesn't happen in this little five part story. I'm also a Senshi/Shitennou shipper but it is really only mentioned in passing in this story. Please enjoy!

**Yun-qi-Jadeite**

Yun-qi gripped the strap of his backpack as he looked around the Eastern side of Tokyo Tower's special observation deck. A bell chimed overhead. In Japanese, an attendant announced that the tower would be closing in fifteen minutes and asked if everyone would make their way to the elevators that would take them back down to the street below. Yun-qi had no clue why he'd come to Tokyo Tower. He'd just woke up that morning and felt that he'd had to. He'd been living in Tokyo for the past two weeks and for some inexplicable reason, Yun-qi suddenly felt as though he had see the view from the top of the tower. It wasn't like he had the burning desire to see it when he'd first gotten to Japan. He'd been to the Shanghai Tower in his native China. There wasn't much difference between one tall building and another. If you saw one bird's eye view, you saw them all.

"I should've stayed home and worked on that summer homework." he muttered under his breath as he pushed away from the windows. He rubbed his temples and pushed his short, curly blond hair out of his eyes. School started the following week and he'd procrastinated way too long on the work. That's what he got for spending more time playing video games than actually focusing on his studies. It was a miracle in the first place that he'd been accepted into the student exchange program in the first place. His grades weren't the best in the world and everyone back in his Chinese high school knew there were at least ten other candidates who were more interested than he was. In fact, he'd only applied for the program because he was sixteen and had nothing better to do.

Shaking his head, Yun-qi turned away from the window and started to follow mass of tourists heading for the elevator. For some reason he couldn't place, he felt incredibly disappointed as he made for the exit. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something important, something crucial, which wasn't like him at all. In his distraction, Yun-qi managed to collide with a slightly older teen with long brown hair. The teen turned to give him an icy look. "Sorry," Yun-qi said in Japanese before looking up at the teen.

Yun-qi met the teen's eyes and a jolt went through him. It was like a shock went up and through his body. Tokyo Tower disappeared and Yun-qi found himself standing on dusty battlefield. Bodies of fallen soldiers in varying uniforms lay on the ground before him. Smoke rose from fiery explosions and made the ground shake beneath his boots. The clothes the teen in front of him was wearing changed from jeans and a t-shirt to a blood stained and torn white military uniform with red detailings. He carried a glinting steel blade in his hand. His red-brown eyes seemed far away though, like he wasn't seeing the same thing Yun-qi was. Nephrite. The word, no! No it was a name. The name Nephrite came instantly to Yun-qi's mind. "Do...do I know you?" Yun-qi heard himself stammer as he looked at the tall teen in front of him.

"I...I don't think so…" he replied in confusion. "I've never been to Japan."

"Really, because you're Japanese is perfect." Yun-qi told him offhandedly.

"What?" the other teen blinked. He opened his mouth to say more but there was a crackle and a pop overhead. The room got instantly darker without the lights in the fading evening light. Yun-qi and the other teen looked up at the observation deck's ceiling.

"That was weird." Yun-qi said as his eyes roved over the ceiling. The trance was broken over the two of them. Yun-qi shook off the vision that he'd seen and looked at the brown haired teenager. However, the teen was staring past him at the window. The look on his face put a dark feeling of dread in the pit of Yun-qi's stomach. It was one of pure panic.  _Nephrite only gets that look when he_ sees  _something_. The thought hit Yun-qi out of nowhere. It left him short of breath and completely confused. Where the hell were they coming from and what the hell was going on? The teen pushed past Yun-qi and ran straight for the window. "What is it? What's wrong?" Yun-qi asked as he followed close behind the other teen to the window.

Outside, below them on the ground lights were flickering out street by street. Yun-qi watched in utter confusion. He couldn't explain it but the way the other teen's face darkened made Yun-qi tighten his grip on the hand rail. Something very familiar and very terrifying filled his mind.  _I've been here before. I've stood next to this guy and waited for him to tell me what evil is heading our way._ "What's going on Nephrite?" Yun-qi whispered as he stood beside the inexplicably familiar teen. The name slipped out subconsciously.

The teen was silent for a few moments and Yun-qi fought back nerves. He watched the quickly darkening city below him. "Something's coming Jadeite." the other teen said. Another jolt went through Yun-qi. The hair on the back of his arm stood on end.

"And what exactly is  _it_?" asked a voice dripping with authority behind them.

Yun-qi and the other teen turned around in perfect synchronization. Behind them stood two teenaged boys. One was a few inches shorter than Yun-qi with a feminine face that was chiselled into a mask of grim determination. His curly strawberry blond hair was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. The other was taller than the brunet teen by a head. He was tanned with platinum white blond hair and eyes that held more authority than Yun-qi could ever fathom.

"Kunzite!" both Yun-qi and the teen next to him said at the same exact time. A wall in Yun-qi's mind, one he hadn't even realized was present, came crashing to the ground in a loud tumult.

X X X

**Rene- Zoisite**

The cute girl over in the corner blushed under Rene's overtly flirtatious and dazzling smile. She retreated closer to the boy she was with and Rene wondered idly if they were together. Judging by the way the girl whispered in his ear and the way the boy turned to glare at him yes, they were definitely together. Actually, the boyfriend was kinda cute too. Rene winked at him in a way that couldn't be construed as anything  _but_  flirtatious. He wasn't picky after all. Not in the least.

The boy drew backwards, shocked, before taking his girlfriend under the arm and dragging her away from Rene. "Ahh, la prochaine sera la bonne." he sighed and shrugged. Better luck next time.

He turned his attention back to the northern view from Tokyo Tower, bent over and leaning against the guardrail with his chin propped up on his hand. The view was breathtaking, he'd readily admit but it left something to be desired. Then again, when you were used to seeing the landscapes of beautiful Paris everything else seemed to pale in comparison. As a Frenchman, though, he could say that he was truly flattered by the architects who had designed Tokyo Tower. It was wonderful when other people tried to emulate the stately beauty of his beloved France and Eiffel Tower. Truly it was. It was just too bad that he was unbelievably bored.

Rene gave a sigh as he flipped his long, curly, strawberry blonde ponytail back over his shoulder as he gazed out the observation window once more. He really had no clue why he'd even ended up Japan. He'd woken up in his Parisian apartment a few days ago with a nagging restless feeling that he couldn't ditch. He refused to believe that it was because of his break up with Ames. Well, he refused to believe that in it's entirety. There was some other reason that he'd been drawn to Tokyo, Japan in particular. For some unshakable and unwavering reason, Rene felt that he had to be exactly at Tokyo Tower. He was just slightly miffed that his burning desire equated to little to no excitement.

The sky to his left was beginning to darken and a quick glance at his watch told him that Tokyo Tower would soon be closing. Rene rocked back on his heels. No sense in sticking around. Whatever reason he'd been pulled to Tokyo could wait until he'd checked out nightlife. Granted he was only sixteen but his beautiful angel face got him into places where he probably shouldn't be. Ah, the perks of being young. He couldn't help the smile that crept on to his face as he made his way to the elevator.

Rene shoved his hands in his pockets as he waited in line for the elevator behind some other tourists. Casually he looked around at some of the faces in the crowd. "Oh! Hello there," he breathed as he caught sight of the back of one interesting person.

He was tall, tanned, and had a body chiselled by Auguste Rodin that drew Rene's eye to him with even just his back facing him. Actually, if Rene was being completely honest with himself, it was the teen's platinum blond hair that really drew his undivided attention. Something about the way it looked, the way moved fluidly as a cape would through the air, took Rene completely off guard. For some reason he couldn't explain the sudden familiar feeling that was rushing through him.

He forgot about the elevator and maneuvered his way through some of the other waiting tourists. Rene ambled his way over to the tall stranger who currently had his nose in a guide book.  _Ah_ , thought Rene,  _another tourist like me. Wonder if he speaks English_. A devilish smile cracked across his lips. Rene smoothed his curls down over his head and leaned against the guardrail as flirtatiously as he could manage. "Did you know that Tokyo Tower was modeled after and inspired by the Eiffel Tower?" he said conversationally in English. Most foreign nations taught English in their classrooms as a second language nowadays.

"Samehni," the older teen started in another language, Arabic from the sound of it. The older teen looked over at him with unbelievably hard, scrutinizing steel blue eyes and Rene's was suddenly thrown back a thousand plus years in time.

"Zoisite!" screamed everyone's voices as pain burned through him, threatening to burn him to nothing but ash. Kunzite swung his scimitar through the enemy in front of him before turning to look at him with wide, frightened eyes. He was too far away to offer help. Jadeite jumped forward towards him, but of course it was Nephrite who reached him first to drag him away from the torturous grasp of the spitting red haired demon-witch woman that had sunk her claws into him. It was too late for him though. The damage had been done. From somewhere inside him, blood was gushing from a wound. He collapsed in Nephrite's arms. Nephrite's hold tightened around him protectively, as if it were enough to save him. Jadeite jumped in front the both of them with his secondary side sword raised to defend them. Again, it was a futile gesture.

"Leave me," Zoisite coughed. Blood filled his stomach and came up through him, leaking through his mouth. Rene recognized his own voice forming the pain torn words. They were dead if they stayed behind with him.

"Not a chance," Nephrite and Jadeite said almost in unison.

"Yield to me and I will save him!" screeched Beryl as she hovered above them. She wasn't talking to any of them though. Her words were directed at Kunzite.

A hand reached down and grabbed his shoulder. Roughly. "Zoisite!" growled Kunzite's voice, now right above his ear. "Zoisite! Get a hold of yourself!"

The pain suddenly ebbed and Rene found himself supported partially by the handrail and Kunzite's arms. That's when Rene realized he wasn't simply Rene anymore. He was Zoisite, King of the North, and one of four Shitennou, the sworn guard of Crown Prince Endymion of Elysion. "K...Kunzite…is it really you?" he gasped, looking up at his captain, his leader, his mentor.

"Yeah, it's me." Kunzite assured him with the warm, reassuring smile that he only seemed to share with him and his brother Shitennou. Wait a minute! Hadn't he just been planning to hit on him. Oh boy, that was awkward. Maybe he hadn't noticed. "Are you alright?" Kunzite asked him.

Rene nodded stiffly as he pulled himself on to his own feet. "I...I think so. I just saw...I think...I'm pretty certain I just relived my death."

Kunzite's eyes went wide. "God above." he swore under his breath as he pressed his hand against his forehead. "Nephrite and Jadeite…and Endymion..."

"I'm here by myself…" Rene explained quickly, apologetically. "I felt drawn here though. To Tokyo. To this place. So maybe…"

Rene left the words hanging in the air. Saying the words would give them hope. After what he'd just felt, Rene didn't want to feel too terribly hopeful. Judging from the way Kunzite's jaw stiffened, neither did he. He shook his head however. "We have to at least see." he said simply and authoritatively. "Come on!"

Before Rene and Kunzite had even taken a step, the lights above their heads cut out and left the Tower in semi-darkness. A spark ran down Rene's spine and the hair on the back of his arms stood on end. Some unknown force pulled his eyes to the windows. The lights below on the street flickered out for blocks. A lump formed in the back of Rene's throat. "That's not normal." muttered Rene as he watched light after light cut out. Something in the bottom of his stomach was rolling and threatening to come up his throat.

"Something's not right." Kunzite said with absolutely certainty that was bred from centuries of spotting things that weren't right. His face was tight and lips were pressed together in a thin line. Rene's stomach flipped over again.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"I don't know, but we're going to find out. Come on." Kunzite told him as he strode back towards the now useless elevator. Rene pushed his nausea down and set his face before hurrying after Kunzite. He had no clue what Kunzite had planned or if he even had a plan but that had never mattered in Zoisite's decision to follow him in the past.

Kunzite stopped short. Rene nearly ran into his shoulder when he stopped. His heart gave a jolt when he saw why Kunzite had put the brakes on so quickly. In front of them, standing with their backs turned and staring out the window, were two very familiar teens. There was no mistaking them. It was Nephrite and Jadeite.

Both of them were gripping the handrail for dear life as they watched the city below. Jadeite was looking at Nephrite expectantly with wide eyes.  _Nephrite's had a vision_ , Rene realized grimly. Nephrite's visions typically weren't good news. One look at Nephrite's face only solidified Rene's belief. "Something's coming Jadeite." he heard Nephrite tell Jadeite in a deadly even voice.

Nephrite spoke Japanese to Jadeite. Rene knew absolutely no Japanese. However, he found himself with immaculate understanding of the foreign language. So much so that he was fairly certain that he could start speaking Japanese if he was so inclined.

"And what exactly is  _it_?" Kunzite asked him in Japanese, voice dripping with authority.

Both Nephrite and Jadeite whipped around at the sound of Kunzite's voice. They stood looking at Rene and Kunzite for only a half second or so before recognition dawned across their faces. "Kunzite!" they exclaimed together in complete and utter surprise.

Then they both cried out in pain and fell to their knees. Rene and Kunzite shoved their way through the lingering people to get to their sides.

X X X

**Parker- Nephrite**

"What the hell am I doing here?" Parker whispered to himself as he pushed a strand of his thick, wavy brown hair behind his ear. He didn't speak a word of Japanese outside of konichiwa and toyota. He really had no business being in Japan. However, for some reason he'd woke up the other morning with a strong desire to see Tokyo. Scratch that. It wasn't a strong desire. It was more like a gnawing, persistent  _need_  to be in Tokyo. He couldn't place the reason why. He hadn't even been able to come up with a good excuse for his parents or his sister before leaving their northern California home. However, as it was the middle of summer and he had saved up a huge chunk of money from his summer job, his parents had been alright with their seventeen year old son taking off for few days to a foreign country. Of course, it helped that he did a good deal of international travelling with his buddies once or twice a year. They considered him experienced. Though his little sister, Jenny, had been completely irritated with him for not inviting her along.

Parker sighed and curled his fingers tighter around the guard rail that kept people from touching the windows. He was standing on the southern side of the tower, overlooking the massive city below. The sky was streaked with red and yellow light as the sun was beginning to set on the horizon. In another half hour it would be dark. Though there wasn't much to look forward to in his opinion. He was a country boy and he was used to seeing the stars. He'd discovered rather quickly though that there weren't many stars to see in Tokyo's night sky. Again, for some reason he couldn't quite explain, he felt disappointed by the fact.

A bell chimed overhead and Parker looked up on instinct as a recording came on in Japanese. It finished and was followed by the English translation. "Tokyo Tower will be closing in fifteen minutes. Please make your way to the elevator. Have a good night."

Parker cast one last glance down at Tokyo below him before turning away from the guard rail. "Time to go back to the hotel I guess." he muttered under his breath to himself. He grimaced. He needed to start packing. He flew back home the following afternoon. Parker couldn't shake his irritation. He'd spent a lot of money to come to Japan to satisfy an out of the blue itch and now that he was preparing to leave he felt as though he hadn't accomplished anything.

Someone bumped into him, jarring his shoulder and pushing him off balance. He turned to glare at the blond haired teen that had walked into him. The teen muttered an apology in Japanese as ran his hand through his short hair. Then their eyes met. Something poured through Parker like fire, a recognition prickled against his skin.

He was no longer standing on the observation deck at Tokyo Tower. Instead, he was standing in room with dark wood paneling covering the walls and a long oak table occupying the center of it. Faintly he was aware of others in the same room, but they were fuzzy and out of focus. All except the blond teen standing in front of him. However, his backpack and street clothes had changed into a snow white military uniform with blue detailings. On his belt was a sheathed katana and a smaller dagger.  _Jadeite, his name is Jadeite_. The thought struck him out of thin air, but Parker couldn't find any real reason to discredit it though he couldn't explain why he suddenly believed it was true. What really scared him, however, was the fact that Parker was absolutely certain for no foreseeable reason that he knew him, as well as he knew his sister back home. The teen was staring at him with wide blue eyes, completely mystified.

Parker and the blond haired teen stared at one another for several minutes. "Do...do I know you?" the teen asked him.

"I...I don't think so…" Parker answered haltingly. "I've never been to Japan."

"Really, because you're Japanese is perfect." the teen pointed out detachedly.

"What?" Parker mentally tripped over the realization. The other teen was right. He was speaking perfect Japanese. Since when did he speak Japanese? What the hell was going on?

All of a sudden all the lights on the tower cut out. Parker and the other teen snapped their heads up towards the ceilings. A few girls shrieked in surprise as a few guys laughed and teased them. "That was weird." the blond teen said with an upraised eyebrow.

Parker wasn't paying attention. He turned back towards the window. One by one, street by street, lights were going out below them on the street. It was like a wave of darkness washing over the city below.  _It's coming_. A tiny voice whispered in the back of his mind. A bad feeling that Parker couldn't explain roiled through the pit of his stomach. He clutched the handrails in front of the window. His jaw tightened and his eyebrows furrowed.

"What's going on Nephrite?" the blond teen asked. Parker hadn't even seen the guy follow him over to the window. The name prickled at the back of his mind, like there was something just beyond the reach of his conscious memory. However, Parker pushed the feeling aside for the time being.

_What's coming_ , Parker asked the voice he'd heard. He didn't expect what happened next.

A vision of a monster with flaming red eyes and razor sharp talons assaulted his mind's eye. Panic wrapped itself around his brain. Parker gripped the handrail and sucked a breath through his teeth. "Something's coming Jadeite." growled Parker as his knuckles went white on the guard rail.

"And what exactly is  _it_?" asked a voice behind Parker. Something inside him reacted instantly to the overt authority in the voice. It caused both Parker and the blond teen beside him whipped around at the same exact time.

Two teens, one older than he and the other younger, stood behind them. The younger one had girlishly fine face and strawberry blond curls that were pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.  _Zoisite_ , whispered the inner voice that had spoken to Parker just at the same time the name came to him. However, Parker's gaze flitted over the younger one and to the older, taller one. He was tanned with platinum blond hair, his grey blue eyes hard as steel. "Kunzite!" both Parker and the blond teen said at the same exact time.

Memories from another life, another time, hit Parker like a sack of bricks.

X X X

**Amal- Kunzite**

Amal glanced up at the scenic view from the western side of Tokyo Tower before looking back down at his guide book. It was getting way too dark for him to see anything that he was supposed to be able to see from this spot now that the sun was beginning to set from somewhere behind him. Not that it really mattered anyways. He'd been at Tokyo Tower for the better part of the day. He'd been round and round the observation deck so many times that his head was spinning. Even after so many trips around the Tower, Amal had yet to figure out exactly why he was here.

Not that there was really any surprise there. He'd felt as he'd lived his life not really knowing what he was doing or who exactly he was. Sure, Amal did really well in school and always had excellent grades but he always felt as though something was missing. Something important and he didn't think it was the fact that he had no clue who his parents were. Well, that was probably more important than he was giving it credit for. However, there was something else that Amal thought was missing, something less obvious.

Amal sighed and shook his head. He was overthinking things again. It was his worst habit and he was notorious for it. His classmates teased him unmercifully about it. They also told him that he had a stick shoved so far up his arse that he couldn't help but walk straight. They were always begging him to join them at the bar for a drink. "You're eighteen Amal!" they laughed, "Live a little before you overthink yourself to an early and serious grave."

They had been extremely surprised when Amal had told them that he was taking off for awhile to go to Japan. That had been so Earth shattering to them that Amal hadn't been able to stop laughing at their expressions. In fact, even as he board his flight at Cairo International Airport, Amal still hadn't been able to fully suppress his snickering. Not that Amal would've been able to give a real reason as to why he suddenly wanted to go to Tokyo, Japan. He wasn't even sure of the reason himself.

"This was a dumb idea. Why'd I even bother coming to Tokyo." he grumbled under his breath as he scratched the back of his neck, messing his platinum blond hair up in the process. An irrational aggravation rose in him. He stared hard at the guide book in his hand, as though it was at fault for Amal's ridiculous decision to come to Tokyo in the first place. It hadn't proved useful one in bit in helping him figure out why he'd woke up and decided, literally out of the blue, that he had to be in Japan. About the only thing it had been good for was to get him to Tokyo Tower when he'd woken up that morning and decided, again literally out of the blue, that he had to go there. The Tower would be closing soon and Amal was still no closer to figuring out why he'd been drawn to a city and a country he'd never had any interest in before. None of it made sense to him. Amal liked things to make sense. Things were easier that way. He could plan and strategize and think clearer when things made sense.  _And now I'm overthinking this again_ , he thought to himself ruefully,  _my classmates would have a field day if they could see me_.

"Did you know that Tokyo Tower was modelled after and inspired by the Eiffel Tower?" a teenaged boy told him conversationally, not to mention flirtatiously, in accented English.

"Samehni?" Amal jumped, startled at his sudden appearance. It wasn't exactly everyday that someone managed to just sneak up on him. Amal turned to look at the teen who'd managed to do just that, raising an eyebrow at him in irritation. When he saw the teen in front of him though, Amal's irritation evaporated like water in the desert.

Zoisite stood in front of him. However instead of standing on the observation deck of Tokyo Tower in their jeans and t-shirts, they were standing on a training field at the Golden Palace in sleek gray uniforms. Zoisite's green detailings were covered in dirt and his strawberry blond curls were mussed and escaping from his ponytail. His bright green eyes were tired but laughing at his success on the training field. Behind Zoisite, he could see Nephrite and Jadeite arguing over something or other. Endymion was behind him, out his line of sight but still shouting at Nephrite and Jadeite to break it up and not be so pigheaded. "Not bad, right Kunzite?" Zoisite smiled brightly as he spun his twin knives around in his hand before sheathing them at his waist.

Something inside Amal unlocked and a door flung open. The important thing that he'd always searched for fell into place in his mind. Four men, three of them his brother Shitennou and one of them the Golden Prince they were sworn to, all took their place inside him as though they'd never been missing. They seamlessly filled the void that Amal had searched his whole life for.  _Kunzite_ , that was him. That had been his name in the past. They had all died at the hands of Beryl in a bloody war. They'd been separated. Now though, now they were reunited after a millennia of being apart. He wasn't just Amal anymore, the too serious orphan from Cairo. Once more he was Kunzite, King of the West, leader of the Shitennou, and the sworn protector of Prince Endymion.

A pained gasp brought him crashing back to reality. Zoisite was falling, hand still weakly grasping the handrail. Amal jumped forward and grabbed on to Zoisite to hold him upright. Zoisite's hand clenched around the handrail with a white knuckle grip as his face contorted in pain. The loudspeakers above announced that Tokyo Tower would be closing in a few minutes and people began to make their way to the elevator. Some of them stopped and turned to look at Amal and Zoisite curiously. Zoisite was still grunting and groaning in pain. "Zoisite!" Amal hissed urgently in his ear, "Get a hold of yourself!"

As if saying his name was the magic word, Zoisite's eyes opened again and looked up at him. He took a shaking breath. "K...Kunzite…is it really you?" he gasped at Amal.

Amal felt something warm in his chest. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so elated. It had to have been before he died in the Silver Millennium. Then again, maybe he'd never been so happy before. It was taking every fiber of his being not to crush Zoisite against his chest. His men were back. They were safe. They'd been tested through Hell's fire itself and had come through it. "Yeah, it's me." Amal reassured Zoisite, smiling warmly at him. Then he truly saw the stricken, pale look on Zoisite's face. Amal frowned. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Zoisite nodded slowly as he heaved himself upright again, once more supporting his own weight. His hand though, Amal noticed, was still white knuckled on the handrail. "I...I think so. I just saw...I think...I'm pretty certain I just relived my death." Zoisite told him, voice still shaking but almost imperceptibly now.

Amal's eyes went wide. Unwanted images and memories of their final battle with Beryl flooded his mind. Suddenly he was standing on that battlefield again, separated from his men by too much distance and too many enemies. Beryl's creatures had cut him off, captured him, and forced him to watch as Beryl personally kill his brother Shitennou. "God above," he breathed, pressing his hand over his forehead and trying to stem the flow of memories.

"You could've saved them," Beryl had hissed in his ear as Zoisite gasped his last and died. She'd kept him restrained and away from his men. Then she let him go just long enough for him to raise his blade against her. He wasn't quick enough though, to save his men or to save himself. Beryl had plunged her sword through his middle. He'd died apart from his men.

Amal looked at Zoisite again. "Nephrite and Jadeite…and Endymion..." he said quietly as a burning need to know where his brothers were now and what had become of their prince coursed through him.

"I'm here by myself…" Zoisite answered apologetically. "I felt drawn here though. To Tokyo. To this place. So maybe…"

Maybe...Amal couldn't bear the thought of what he would do if Nephrite and Jadeite hadn't somehow been reborn as he and Zoisite had. He clenched his jaw tight and shook his head. "We have to at least see. Come on!" he told Zoisite firmly, sweeping past him.

They hadn't gotten very far when the observation deck lights cut flickered and fizzled out, leaving the Tower in semi-darkness as the sun continued to set. A few people shrieked and some laughed. However, Amal's eyes were drawn to the ground below the Tower outside the window. Darkness stretched out beneath them as the lights cut out. Some buried deep instinct rose up in Amal's chest. It sent rapid fire electric shocks down his arms and spine, making his hair stand on end. This wasn't just a simple power surge at Tokyo Tower. If had been, then back up generators would've quickly brought the emergency lights on. On top of that, a power surge at the Tower wouldn't have affected the lights around it. His chest tightened. "Something's not right." he said looking at Zoisite. Even as he said it, there wasn't a doubt in Amal's mind that what he said was true. For once it appeared as though his tendency to overthink things was actually helping.

"What is it?" Zoisite asked quietly. The look on his face told Amal that he clearly agreed that there was, indeed, something wrong.

"I don't know," admitted Amal, "but we're going to find out. Come on."

Amal started towards the elevator with Zoisite following close behind. He didn't know where to start but on the ground seemed as well a place as any and the stairs would take the pair of them there. Amal wasn't the only one looking for the stairs. Several people pushed their way past him, trying to hurry out while they still had some light. However, as Amal looked around, he saw two teens that didn't seem in such a hurry to get out. Amal froze in his tracks as he looked at those two, one blond and the other brunet.  _Jadeite...Nephrite_ , Amal blinked. They were here. They were alive!

There was something wrong. Amal could see that in just the way they were standing with their hands tight around the handrail. Nephrite's face was grim as he stared down at the street. His eyes were dark, like he was just coming out of a vision. Jadeite looked equally worried as he stared at Nephrite, waiting for an explanation. "Something's coming Jadeite." Nephrite said darkly in Japanese as he continued to stare out the window.

For some reason, Amal had no problem understanding a language that he'd never studied or had prior knowledge of. Even more interestingly, Amal found himself the ability to speak perfect Japanese. "And what exactly is  _it_?" Amal asked with unmeasured authority in his voice.

Nephrite and Jadeite spun on their heels to face them. Their eyes went wide when they saw Amal and Zoisite. The recognition was obvious on their faces. "Kunzite!" they both called out in shock. Then Nephrite and Jadeite cried out in pain and fell to their knees.

Amal and Zoisite pushed their way through the crowd to get to them. 


	2. Yun-qi (Jadeite)

Yun-qi groaned under his breath as he came back to his senses.  The memories of his death at Beryl’s hands were still rippling at the forefront of his brain.  Pain was boring its way into his skull.  Vaguely he was aware of someone supporting him under his arm.  However, all he could think about was the fact that he wasn’t just the slacker, video game playing Yun-qi anymore.  He was Jadeite, King of the East and sworn guardian to Prince Endymion.  He’d also died a hundreds of years ago and was now inexplicably alive once more.  “What on Elysion is going on?” moaned Yun-qi as he raked his hand through his hair.

“We’ve been reborn.” Nephrite said from beside him.  Yun-qi looked over at him.  The guy looked like he’d just climbed out of hell.  His face was pale and drawn but somehow, Nephrite still managed to give him a dry smile.  “You still look funny.” 

“Ha ha,” snorted Yun-qi as he rolled his eyes, “I see you still think you’re some sort of comedian.” 

“Good to see you too Jade.” Nephrite grinned.  That’s when Yun-qi realized that, like he, Nephrite was being supported someone.   Yun-qi raised his eyes and sputtered in surprise.  

“Kunzite!” he repeated.  Yun-qi blinked stupidly for a minute, trying to register the image in front of him.  “You’re alive!”

“Don’t pass out again.” Kunzite told him as he pointed accusingly at him.

“I did not pass out,” Yun-qi told him with a glare.  It quickly withered though.  He was too happy and relieved to maintain it.  “I am sure glad to see you again.”

“And what am I?  Rotten escargot?” squawked Zoisite from his other side.  

Yun-qi turned his head to look at Zoisite.  Nephrite and Kunzite followed his lead.  “Oh, you’re back too I see.”

“Mon dieu!” Zoisite growled, “I swear I  _ will _ drop you.  Some thanks for hauling your fat ass off the ground.”

Yun-qi rolled his eyes but something settled into his chest.  He’d really missed these three.  So much so that he hadn’t realized just  _ how much _ he’d missed them.  He could still remember vividly Beryl striking Zoisite, her talons sunken deep into his chest before casting him to the ground.   Yun-qi reached up and grasped Zoisite’s hand and squeezed it gratefully.  “Good to see you safe Zo.” he said with a crooked half smile. 

Zoisite’s scowl immediately slipped from his face.  He laughed a little under his breath but didn’t say anything.  “People are staring.” Nephrite pointed out. 

“Can you stand?” Kunzite asked him seriously.

“Yeah, I think so.” Nephrite didn’t wait for Kunzite’s say so.  He simply stood up, wavering a little on his feet.  Yun-qi followed suit.  Zoisite’s hands clenched around his shoulder subtly, waiting to hold him up should the need arise.  

“What did you see in your vision?” repeated Kunzite.  The fact that he wasn’t wasting time and was getting straight down to business was comforting to Yun-qi when by all rights he, as well as the other three, should be freaking out.

“It was just a flash but I think it was a youma.” Nephrite said with a trace of doubt in his voice.

“Youma…” muttered Zoisite, “Shouldn’t those things be long gone?  The Dark Kingdom should’ve died out ages ago and youmas with them.”

“Yeah, just like us.” Yun-qi commented dryly.  Zoisite gave his shoulder a shove and sent him stumbling forward a few steps.  Yun-qi turned to match Zoisite’s glare.  Kunzite smoothly put himself between the two of them to keep them from arguing further.  

“Youma, Nephrite.  Where is it?” he asked, obviously trying to redirect their focus.

“I don’t know.  Like I said, it was just a flash.”

“Well I think it’s probably safe to say that it isn’t up here on Tokyo Tower.” Zoisite quipped.  

The sarcastic remark was on the tip of Yun-qi’s tongue.  He had his mouth open to shoot it at Zoisite.  Then Nephrite’s hand was over Yun-qi’s mouth, effectively silencing that remark.  “Very astute Zo,” nodded Nephrite.  “Perhaps you would like tell us where to find it.”

“That’s your job starry eyes.” Zoisite shrugged.  This time Kunzite turned to glare at Zoisite.  However before he could say anything, the tower began to shake and shift beneath their feet. Then, everything went completely still. 

The few people that were still waiting to leave the tower via the stairs stopped and looked around.  Whispers of “earthquake” and “what was that” ran through the crowd.  Yun-qi’s stomach flipped over.   _ I don’t think that was an earthquake _ , he thought as he bit his lip.  Yun-qi looked over at Kunzite, Nephrite, and Zoisite.  No, they didn’t think it was an earthquake either.

Zoisite frowned and shook his head.  “I…” he started to say.

There was a bright flash.  Yun-qi hissed in pain and threw his hands over his face to block out the offending light.  Glass cracked and shattered over the top his head as the light bulbs burst from the power surge.  He felt shards rain down over his head.  Pinpricks of pain tore through his scalp and on the back of his arms.  Screams filled the air as people rushed to cover their heads with their arms.  Another shock rocked Tokyo Tower and Yun-qi had to fight to stay on his feet. 

“Everybody!  Out!  NOW!” yelled Kunzite, pointing towards the door.  Tourists screamed as the tower continued to shake.  They poured towards the tiny door, pushing and shoving to get out.  

“Calm down!” called Nephrite as he started to force his way through the crowd.  He grabbed on to the door and held it open to help funnel people through it.  

“Zoisite, Jadeite!  Make sure no one is lagging behind.” Kunzite told them as he started for Nephrite to help him convince the tourists to evacuate a little more organized fashion.  

“One perimeter check coming up.” Zoisite nodded seriously before turning to Yun-qi, “I’ll go left if you go right.”

“Meet you in the center then.” agreed Yun-qi.  He spun on his heel and headed in the opposite direction of Zoisite.  Zoisite would do his job and he would do his.  

He hadn’t gotten more than a quarter of the way around before he spotted someone on the ground.  People were streaming around her like she was a rock in a river.  Yun-qi grit his teeth and forced his way through the crowd to her side.  Her long, straight, black hair made him pause.  An overwhelming sense of familiarity surged through him.  For a split second, before he got to the girl’s side, Yun-qi’s heart raced.  “Hemera…” he breathed.  

He fell to his knees by the girl’s side.  She looked up at him with wide blue eyes, not violet gray as he’d half expected.  Seriously, why had he even allowed  _ that  _ expectation?  Yun-qi shoved down the disappointment in his throat.  Now was  _ not  _ the time to be thinking about lost lovers.  “Easy there,” he told the girl as he help her to her feet.  “You alright?”

“I...I think so,” she nodded uncertainly. 

“Good, get out of here then.”  Yun-qi told her as he gave her a push towards the stairs.  He rose to his feet and scanned the area. The majority of the people seemed to have some common sense because no one was lingering.  Then again, the tower was still trembling beneath his feet.  No one wanted to be on top of a tower that could possibly go crashing down at any moment.  Another violent shake rocked the tower and Yun-qi grabbed on to the handrail for support.  As he righted himself, that’s when he saw it.  A figure slowly stalking towards Tokyo Tower, wrapped in what looked like lightning.  A bolt arced from it’s body and towards the street light.  The light went out with a sudden flare.  “ _ Dăo méi _ !  It’s creating the power surge.” whispered Yun-qi, could his luck be any worse?

“Oi!  Jadeite!” cried Zoisite as he charged up to his side.  “Slacking off I see.  I’ve finished running the perimeter.  Everyone’s out on my end.  What about your’s?”

“Yeah,” Yun-qi mumbled as he continued to stare, mesmerized, at the figure coming towards the tower.

“Let’s get back to Kunzite and Nephrite and get the Hell out of here.” Zoisite told him.  He wasn’t really paying attention to what Yun-qi was looking at.  Yun-qi latched on to Zoisite’s arm before he could get too far from him.

“What gives?” Zoisite snapped as Yun-qi dragged him back to the window.  “What are you doing?  What are you...oh merde!”

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly.” grimaced Yun-qi as he cast a glance at Zoisite.  Zoisite was now standing and staring at the figure with shock and a slack jaw.  He raked his hand through his hair repeatedly.  “Youma?” Yun-qi asked him dryly.

“Youma,” nodded Zoisite in agreement.  

“What are you two waiting for?” growled Kunzite as he raced up beside them.  

“Tokyo Tower’s clear.  We should get out of here.” Nephrite added.  

Yun-qi and Zoisite only raised their fingers and pointed at the figure out the window.  Kunzite and Nephrite followed their hand.  Their eyes went wide when they too saw the stalking figure coming towards them.  “Youma!” whispered Kunzite.  It almost sounded as though he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.  

“And we just sent everyone down there with it.” Nephrite added in horror.

Any look of uncertainty disappeared off of Kunzite’s face.  Yun-qi was thankful for that.  He  _ needed _ that.  “Then we just have to get to it before it gets to us.” Kunzite told them simply.

“How?” demanded Zoisite.  His voice raised a full octave.  He looked back between Kunzite and the approaching youma before waving his arms maniacally in front of the window.  “There’s only one way down and it will take us just as long if not longer to get down with all the civilians in the way.  Then, even if we do manage to get ourselves between it and them, we have no way of confronting it!  Not unless you’ve got a shiny sword hidden away somewhere on your person.  I know I sure as Hell don’t!”

“Zo, calm down.” Nephrite told him emphatically.  Yun-qi was actually surprised that he’d seemed to have acquired some of the authoritative tone that Kunzite had mastered in this present life.  Not as well as Kunzite but still it was there.  

Yun-qi stared down at the youma with narrowed eyes.  He had all his memories flying through his head from another life.  If given a sword, he knew exactly what to do with it beyond sticking the pointy end in something soft.  Nephrite still seemed to have some of his limited psychic abilities as evidenced by the fact that he’d had a vision of the youma.  Those were abilities that you didn’t come by suddenly.  They had to be practiced and developed.  However, not even half an hour into remember a previous life, Yun-qi was dead sure that he wouldn’t even hesitate with a blade in his hands.  Maybe...he wondered…

“Can we try teleporting?” he asked quietly, eyes still locked on to the youma.  

“Wait!” Nephrite sputtered as Zoisite snorted, “What?”

“Teleporting,” Yun-qi said again.  “Like we used to do when we lived in the time of Elysion.”  

“Magic takes time to cultivate in a person.  You need to practice.  We can’t just teleport right off the bat!  Don’t you remember what happened to that Icarus guy from the South?  He pulled himself apart trying to teleport.” Zoisite reminded them angrily.  He cast another anxious glance at the youma.  Half his fluster came from the simple fact that it was now just a few blocks away from the tower.  

“Think about it,” Yun-qi pushed.  Now, though, he was only talking to Kunzite.  If he could convince Kunzite, then the others would follow suit.  “Nephrite has his psychic abilities intact from his last life.  He was just as accurate a few minutes ago as he was three thousand years ago.  None of us even questioned it.  Then there’s the fact that I’m willing to bet we’re still expert swordsmen.  I haven’t even touched a real blade in the last seventeen years of my life.”

“I follow your logic Jadeite.”  Kunzite nodded stiffly.  He held his chin and stared at the ground, deep in thought.  Yun-qi held his breath as he waited for Kunzite’s decision.  Kunzite looked up.  His eyes were dark and his face was grim.  “We teleport.” he said finally.

“You can’t be serious!” Nephrite balked.  

“What’s the matter Nephrite?” asked Kunzite, “Don’t think that you can do it?”

Just like that the gauntlet was thrown.  It appeared as though Kunzite still knew how to manipulate and get his men to do something without giving them a direct order.  Nephrite straightened up and rose to Kunzite’s challenge.  “After you my brother Shitennou.” he smirked.

“No,” Kunzite looked at each of them.  “We go together all at once.  No one is to be separated.  This time...we stick together.”

“Not that I’m doubting this plan to teleport thing,” Zoisite started and drew attention to himself, “but once we’re down there...how do we actually stop that thing?  Again, none of us have weapons.”

“There are other ways to stop a youma than with blades.” Kunzite reminded him.

Zoisite let out a labored sigh, “Yeah, that’s just the easiest way.”

“We’re out of time to talk about this.” Nephrite said, nodding in the direction of the youma.  It had reached its first set of people.  

“Ready to teleport on my count.  Three...” Kunzite commanded with pure and simple determination.    He, Nephrite, and Zoisite all shifted into position.  They all shared the same nervous look.  A nervous lump rose in Yun-qi’s throat as he pulled the familiar energy around himself.  Yun-qi just hoped he hadn’t suggested what would ultimately be their untimely deaths in this life. “Two…”  Icarus hadn’t been a pretty sight when he’d rematerialized after an ill practiced teleport attempt, in any of the five locations they found his body in.  “One!”

Yun-qi pushed himself into the energy and out of physical space.  He felt Nephrite, Kunzite, and Zoisite all brush past a small place in the back of his mind as they joined him in the teleport.  


	3. Rene (Zoisite)

Rene's feet hit the ground within a fraction after Kunzite and Nephrite and a fraction of a second before Jadeite. He remembered the first time he'd teleported, a long, long time ago during the Silver Millennium. It had left him winded, exhausted, and pretty much laying on the ground. This felt nothing like that first time. Rene stood tall beside the rest of his brother Shitennou as the last wisps of energy swirled around him. Jadeite had been right. They'd regained a lot more than just their memories.

Nephrite gave Kunzite a smug look. He knew that Kunzite had manipulated him. However, Nephrite didn't seem to concerned with holding a grudge or calling him out on it. He was probably too excited to see everyone alive. Rene knew he was. God above! He'd missed them. Every last one of their stinking faces! There was no one in the world that he trusted more than these guys.

The world came back into focus. They'd managed to teleport in the dead center of all the panic and chaos. The air was dry and thick with static electricity as bolts of lightning leapt from the monster to the power lines. Screams filled the air as people fled from the youma. How was there even a youma here? It couldn't be possible. The Dark Kingdom should've died out ages ago! Now probably wasn't the time to worrying about that. Said youma was rapidly approaching. Stop monster first, then figure out what the heck was going on. Priorities were important. Too bad he had absolutely no clue how they were going to actually stop the youma. "Well, we're down here. Now what?" he asked nervously as he pushed his way through the people running past them to Kunzite's side.

Jadeite and Nephrite followed suit. Tokyo PD had acted fast. There were at least a dozen police cruisers sitting between the terrified mass of fleeing, panicking civilians and the approaching youma. Trying to put up a protective barrier and marking a place to make a stand. Rene grit his teeth. It was a good idea… or would've been if the police had some kind of magical armor. Without that, they'd be fried by lightning. Rene, once again, really wished he had a blade.

"We let the police handle the civilians." Kunzite told them as he looked over their decidedly crappy battlefield. The police were already directing people towards a street that Rene knew lead to a park. He winced. Not the best idea but all they really needed to do was to keep the civilians from getting caught in the crossfire. If they could be through the park before the youma got there then it wasn't that big of a deal. Kunzite continued, "We need to lead the youma away from here."

"Okay… where?" Jadeite asked as he glanced around nervously. It wasn't like they had a whole lot of options at the moment.

"And  _how_?" Rene added.

"We lead it the opposite way the police are directing civilians in." said Kunzite.

" _How_?" Rene repeated.

"It's too packed to get in a clean shot with magic without hitting any bystanders." Nephrite tacked on.

"Not to mention how that would probably only scare everyone even more." agreed Kunzite. The unspoken command was no more magic until they were more secluded.

People running around and under equipped local law enforcement was only part of the problem. No matter which way Rene looked, there was a maze of streets, tall buildings, and traffic lights around them. Nothing about the area in particular was remotely conducive to a lightning slinging youma. Rene bit his lip and wracked his brain. Lightning wasn't the most accurate force of nature out there but it did have at least a discernable pattern. It usually struck the closest thing that would take it to the ground the fastest. How exactly could he make that work in their advantage?

As if to punctuate his thoughts, a streak of lightning cut through the air. Sparks rained from above as the bolt hit a traffic light. People shrieked and hunkered low to protect themselves. "We're sitting ducks out here. It's too flat." he said.

"Then let's find a few buildings to put it between." whispered Nephrite. It was almost like he hadn't meant to say it out loud. They'd all heard him, however, and were now all staring at him. "Two streets over there's an intersection with four decently tall buildings, one on each corner."

Rene's eyes widened. He'd just been thinking about that! Nephrite was on to something! "If we can put the youma in a place where there's a better target then we can probably attack without worrying that the youma is going to fry us!"

"And we might just have a shot!" Nephrite agreed.

Rene pressed his lips into a thin smile. Nehprite's idea would've won him points with Phoebe. She'd have loved the building strategy. Cold pain stabbed through his chest and straight to his heart. Phoebe! His Phoebe.

An inhuman cry brought Rene back to present times. The youma screeched as it watched it's would be victims getting away from it. At the rate it was going, it was going to make it to the police line and the helpless civilians before everyone had a chance to escape. He couldn't afford to lose his head at a time like this.

Static crackled in the air above his head. Rene felt the hair on the back of his arms stand on end. He looked up just in time to see a bolt of lightning strike a statue on the side of a building right in front of them. "Look out!" he yelled as he launched himself towards Kunzite.

Rene forced Kunzite down right as a chunk of debris narrowly missed their heads. Jadeite and Nephrite had jumped sideways to avoid it as well. They all looked back momentarily to watch the debris, a mixture of broken stones and metal pieces, roll benignly on the ground.

"I say we figure out a way to lure it away, quickly." Jadeite said in deadpan voice as he turned to look back at the youma.

"I know you said there were other ways to take care of a youma, Kunzite, but I really wish I had a blade." Rene told him with all honest and earnest sincerity.

Kunzite's hand gripped his reassuringly for a moment. Fierce determination poured through his grasp. Rene could feel his staunch unwillingness to allow anything to befall him or any of the other Shitennou. Or the civilians for that matter. Then he let go and Rene felt the lingering strength in his own body. They would find a way to win this. They had too. There was no other choice.

"Nephrite!" Kunzite called out suddenly. Rene and Jadeite twisted around.

Nephrite was striding away from them with determined purpose. "I've got an idea!" he yelled back at them as picked up the piece of metal that had come flying at their heads.

As he jogged back to their side, Rene and Jadeite shared a confused look before turning it on Nephrite. He had a piece of metal.  _Bien vu_! What a good idea. All their problems were surely solved. What exactly did he plan on doing with a chunk of metal? Kunzite's face was a stony mask with a raised eyebrow. That was when Nephrite flashed a wide grin at Kunzite and Rene got a bad feeling.

"Hey ugly! Pick on someone your own size!" Nephrite shouted as he drew back his arm and then  _launched_  the piece of metal at the youma. It went flying through the air and struck the monster square in the face. There was an unholy screech as the youma reeled back in pain and anger. Then it turned its attention squarely on them.

"That was your idea!" shrieked Rene as he waved his arms up and down at his sides. He wasn't the only one yelling. The police weren't too happy with Nephrite's decision. They kept yelling at him, calling him 'stupid tourist.' Actually, it was  _all_ of them the police were yelling at.

Nephrite grinned back at him in a nonchalant way that made Rene want to strangle him. "Yep!" answered Nephrite brightly.

"Well it was  _fantastic_ Neph." Jadeite snapped as he beat his forehead into the heel of his palm. The youma's expression flooded Rene with a certainty that they were all going to die.

"Bravo!" Rene grumbled as he clapped his hands together in the slowest and most sarcastic way possible. Nephrite glared at him. Rene didn't care. Well, the twenty minutes of remembering his old life and brothers had been fun while it lasted.

"At least I got its attention." Nephrite shot back defensively.

"It's not just big and ugly either. Now we've got the police coming to arrest us too." Jadeite said, nodding violently towards the pair of police officers heading their way. "We aren't going to do a lot of good if we're sitting in the back of a police car!"

"Then let's not get arrested  _or_  lose the youma's attention." Kunzite told them simply, cutting off their fight. His eyes were narrowed at the youma. He bent down and grabbed loose stone before moving sideways in another direction. With a calculated throw, Kunzite hit the youma on the arm. "Come on then! Let's see what you've got?" he challenged, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

Nephrite pumped his fist in the air before grabbing a rock himself and following after Kunzite, ducking past the still screaming police officers. "Are we really doing this?" Rene asked Jadeite as his jaw hung open. He stabbed his finger violently at the youma and then at Nephrite and Kunzite throwing rocks at it like the giant idiots they were. "Like is this really how we're going to do this?"

Jadeite grimaced, "Guess so. C'mon Zo."

He clapped Rene on the shoulder before chasing after the other two. To their credit, the youma was now completely focused on them. The civilians were all forgotten. However, that meant that the youma was now flinging lightning at them and only them. It would charge the air, cast the electricity at them, and then pause to gather another charge. Nephrite narrowly missed being hit by a lightning strike, the electricity jumping to a signpost at the last possible moment. Potholes trailed behind them from other missed attacks. Kunzite, Nephrite, and Jadeite weren't paying attention to them though. They just kept right on throwing. Rene bit his lip and groaned. This had to be the  _dumbest_  idea ever concocted. All the same… he wasn't about to let Kunzite, Nephrite, and Jadeite do this by themselves.

Rene took off after the other three. Between Kunzite, Nephrite, and Jadeite throwing rocks and other bits of easily accessible projectiles, they'd managed to draw the youma away from the street. They had it chasing them in the direction that he assumed lead to the intersection Nephrite had mentioned. Rene kept his eyes peeled as he sprinted behind. They were going to need more than just rocks and sticks to get rid of the monster. Anything that could be useful as a weapon would be welcome. That was the reason he picked up a broken metal pipe with a jagged end. A sword it was not but if he or anyone else got close enough they could use to stab the youma.

"Zoisite hurry up!" Kunzite commanded as they rounded another corner. The intersection that Nephrite had told them about opened up in front of them. The street was completely deserted and four tall buildings rose around them. Already the lightning that was being hurled at them was going wide and hitting the buildings around them. Kunzite threw his hand out wide. "Fan out! Surround it!"

Nephrite and Jadeite split and made a break to flank the youma. The youma spun, hurling a bolt of lightning at them as they passed. This time it aimed low and completely missed the buildings. It went straight for Jadeite. He yepled in surprise and scrambled sideways to dodge. A street lamp behind him erupted into sparks. Bright light flared before the glass shattered out of it. Jadeite raised his arms to protect himself. "Alright, who's got the next step in this plan?" he demanded.

"Sorry, all out of ideas. Your turn!" Nephrite called back. The youma turned and flung lightning his way next with an ear shattering shriek. This time the lightning went high towards the buildings. Nephrite covered his eyes a second too late as the flash temporarily blinded him.

"I already came up with my portion of the ideas. Someone else can have a turn." Jadeite called back. "Can we use magic now?"

"Watch your aim." Kunzite replied. A vivid pink light flashed around his hands, illuminating his fierce expression. He cast his hand out and let the magic fly just as the youma shot a bolt of lightning at him. The two energies collided with each other and the resulting force was enough to make everyone stumble back a step. "Definitely watch your aim!" Kunzite repeated as he grit his teeth.

Nephrite's dark green magic blazed to life followed by Jadeite's paler green. Once more, as they shot at the youma, the youma's lightning was drawn towards their energy. Rene grit his teeth. Their powers and the monster's electricity attracted each other. They could shoot off as many energy blasts as they wanted but it wouldn't matter as the youma's own lightning would leap to cut it off before it ever reached it. They needed a different plan.

Rene looked at the metal pipe in his hand. Okay, so even if it had been a sword there would have been no way in Hell that he would've tried to ram it through the youma. Not with that much electricity running through it. Rene imagined that it would equate to jamming a fork in a light socket with a multiplier of a thousand tacked on to it. Ideally they'd have used spears or something similar. Anything that could be thrown from a distance. They didn't  _have_  anything to throw from a distance though!

He groaned and rubbed his temples. They needed a plan but they were short weapons, armor, troops to support them, and their magic attracted the youma's lightning to top it all off! "This is just great!" Rene mumbled as he stared up at the sky.

Tall antenna rose from the tops of the buildings. That's when it hit him!

Rene tapped the metal pipe in his hand. A smirk spread across his face as the semblance of a new plan started to fall into place. He  _always_  came up with the best plans.

 


	4. Parker (Nephrite)

Parker jumped back as the youma's lightning exploded in the air. He was still seeing spots from the flash that had gone by him just moments before. The static electricity hung thick in the atmosphere. It rippled underneath his skin and in his hair. "Kunzite, I hate to be  _that_  guy but this isn't working!" he yelled.

Kunzite ducked behind a car to avoid some electricity that shot off of the main bolt. "I know," Kunzite answered through grit teeth and frustration.

He jumped back up with another magic attack ready to go on his hand. Jadeite summoned an orb of pale green and took aim. With a yell, he flung the energy at the youma. It didn't even make it halfway before lightning met it. Another streetlight surged and burst. Glass showered on to the ground. "It's like the youma's attacks are attracted to our magic." Parker growled.

"That's exactly how it works Neph!" Zoisite called to him. He bounced a metal pipe in his open hand and had a smirk on his face. Apparently he was on to something that he thought was a good idea. Zoisite continued, "You all know how a lightning rod works right?"

"Now might not be the time to wow us with your superior genius Zo." Parker snapped. He couldn't help but notice that he hadn't thrown a single magical attack at the youma.

"Does this somehow involve a plan?" called Jadeite. He had another bolt of energy burning in his hand but didn't look like he was all that eager to use it. Jadeite had made the 'lightning-magic attraction' connection too.

"Of course it entails a plan! Who do you think I am?" snorted Zoisite.

"Then spit it out!" Kunzite yelled.

"Lightning rods put out a current that attracts lightning to it. Like a magnet. Right now I think our magic is acting like the attracting current so even though there's better targets, it's drawn to us!"

As if on cue, the youma unleashed another lightning bolt. It headed straight for the orb of energy in Jadeite's hand. "Oh that's fantastic!" groaned Jadeite as he threw the magic away from him.

"We need to get higher up!" Zoisite informed them.

Parker froze, wishing he was closer to Zoisite so he could smack him. "That is the very opposite of what we need to do you idiot!"

Zoisite sighed like the giant drama king he was. He stopped bouncing his metal rod on his hand and drove it straight towards the ground with a vicious jab. "Hitting it with only magic isn't going to work. A physical attack is going to be our best bet. We need to get higher so we drive a stake through it's head!"

"And where do you plan on getting stake big enough?" Jadeite said.

A smile curled across Zoisite's face. His eyes rose towards the top of the building. He lifted his metal rod like a pointing stick. Parker and the others all looked. On top of the building was a tall antenna. "Oh…" muttered Parker, "that would be one way to go about it."

"I need a volunteer to lend me a hand." Zoisite told them.

"Nephrite! Go with Zoisite. Jadeite and I will stay down here and see if we can give the two of them cover." ordered Kunzite.

"By making ourselves targets," Jadeite grumbled under his breath. However that was the only complaint he uttered. Jadeite looked up at he and Zoisite and gave a curt nod. He turned to look at the youma. "Alright you freak. Let's see what you got in you?"

Jadeite's pale green magic blazed to life between his two hands, arching over his head. Kunzite's pink flared to life somewhere on the other side. Lightning crackled. Parker's heart seemed to jump in time with it. Right at the last moment, before the lightning could actually strike either of them, they pushed their magic away from their bodies. Energy exploded off to the side of the street. Neither Kunzite or Jadeite looked too affected from it. Nerves of steel or just an iron bluff. Parker wasn't sure what it was. Not his concern though. He couldn't let it be his concern.

He turned his back on Kunzite and Jadeite. Zoisite beckoned to the top of the closest building. "Go! I'm right behind you!" he yelled over the roars and crashes behind him.

Zoisite gathered his power around him. Parker felt the usual, familiar touch of teleportation brush against the back of his mind. He glowed vibrant blue before losing corporeal form. Parker slid to a stop in front of the building, closed his eyes, and sent a prayer to the stars and whoever else was listening.

His feet hit the roof of the building half a second later. Then he lost his footing as the building shook. Zoisite caught him under the arm. His face was deathly pale as he looked over the side of the building. Down below, where Parker had been standing, was a black scorch mark burned right on to the sidewalk. Yeah, Parker felt the color drain out of his face too. "Cut that a little close." Zoisite told him, wrapping a nervous hand around his arm. "Barely avoided the lightning that was attracted to my magic before throwing your own out there."

Parker reached up and squeezed Zoisite's arm reassuringly. "Yeah… I probably should've waited a moment. We're good though. Let's get this plan of yours into action. Kunzite and Jadeite can't play magical chicken down there forever with that youma."

Kunzite and Jadeite were playing a dangerous game on the ground. They let their magic surge, wait for the youma to pull its own lightning, and then pitched the energy away from themselves at the last possible second. It was a stellar plan that was going to run out of steam quickly. "Right," nodded Zoisite as he looked up at the antenna with a staunchly determined look on his face. "First things first. We've got to cut the antenna loose from its base."

"I can handle that." Parker said as he let magic pour over his hand. "I'll take one side and you take the other."

"Just the back two. We're only going to get one shot at this." Zoisite started to say.

Parker finished the thought immediately. "And we definitely don't want it coming down before Kunzite and Jadeite have the youma in place."

The roof lit up around them as they got to work blasting the thick bolts that held the antenna to the top of the building. The metal creaked and groaned above them. It swayed ominously. At one point during the rushed thirty seconds they spent trying to blow through the fasteners, Parker almost dropped what he was doing to force Zoisite back as the antenna lurched to one side. Thankfully the other two bolts that he and Zoisite had left kept it from pitching to far towards them.

Zoisite stepped back and lifted his hand into the sky. His brow furrowed as he measured the length with his hand. He bit his lip momentarily. After a split a couple appraising moments, he dropped his hand again. Zoisite sent him a look to make sure that Parker actually had a handle on the antenna before rushing forward to the edge of the roof. "Kunzite! Jadeite!" he yelled down below, "Forty marks in front of this building."

Parker couldn't see either Kunzite or Jadeite from where he was standing and bracing the antenna. He had to assume that they'd given Zoisite the confirmation he needed because he spun and faced the antenna again. Below them, Parker could see flashes of magic and lightning going off. Kunzite and Jadeite shouted and yelled as they presumably worked to push the youma into hung thick in the air. Where was Juno at a time like this? She'd have loved being in the thick of this battle. Not to mention she'd have been useful in redirecting the lightning away from them.

Parker wrapped his hands around the metal of the antenna. His knuckles turned stark white against it. Pain ran through his every fiber. He stamped down the urge to ask the stars for any word on his lost love. There was something much more urgent to attend to. "Nephrite?" called Zoisite. He'd noticed the pain flash through Parker's face.

"Let me know when to strike!" he said to Zoisite. He shook off his thoughts and forced himself to focus.

"Right," Zoisite replied with only mild hesitation. A shot of pink magic flew up dangerously close to the roof. Zoisite peered over the edge. Parker could see the way that he frowned as he watched whatever was going on beneath them. "Get ready!"

"Born ready!"

"Steady." Zoisite's eyes narrowed. Parker swallowed the lump in his throat and raised a hand towards the last bolt on his side. Zoisite shifted his weight from foot to foot as he watched the scene below him intently. His hands were practically shaking. Parker wasn't sure if it was anticipation, nerves, or maybe a mixture of both. He felt the burning need to tell Zoisite to stay steady himself.

Kunzite and Jadeite let out a loud, triumphant shout. "Now!" Kunzite screamed.

"Now!" Zoisite repeated, voice rising over the youma's angry roars. Parker's dark green magic exploded in his hand. Zoisite jumped backwards away from the antenna, letting loose a shot of his blue magic. Both blasts of magic hit the remaining two bolts with destructive results.

Metal screeched. It grated on his ears but Parker clenched his jaw and fought through it. He shoved it forward in hopes of guiding the antenna into some kind of discernible path. The antenna pitched downwards on the roof. It felt like slow motion to him. Somewhere underneath him and Zoisite, Jadeite shouted out a warning about the impending fall. Too late to stop it now if it had even been possible before. The antenna left Parker's hands and toppled towards the ground leaving him grasping at nothing but thin air.

The thud the antenna made shook the entire building and street around them. The youma let out a furious bellow. Zoisite's eyes went wide. Parker rushed to his side to see what had happened. Instead of going through the middle of the youma, the antenna had only landed on top of it and was pinning it to the ground with a crushing weight. However, the youma was very much still  _alive_. "It didn't impale it." murmured Zoisite.

Parker bit his lip and threw a silent question at the stars. Now what?

_Wait_ , was the answer he got back.

Half a second later the youma reached up with a claw for the antenna. Lightning snapped and crackled. Electricity jumped from it's hand and on to the metal struts. Then it coursed from one end to the other. It twisted and twined around the youma and made it jerk sideways under the antenna. A tell-tale burning smell rose through the air. Thick black plumes of smoke came with it. Kunzite and Jadeite leaped backwards as it screeched in pain. They threw their arms over their eyes to protect themselves.

With a final, but markedly weaker roar, the youma's claw fell. It hit the ground hard and didn't move again. It also didn't seem to mind that there were still some wayward sparks jumping from the antenna to its body. "Is it…" Jadeite started to ask.

Parker couldn't help but notice just how tense Zoisite was as Kunzite took a cautious step forward towards the youma. He kneeled and examined it. It didn't move. At all. Kunzite stood again. "Dead." he said for them all to hear.

"Well that worked too." Parker told Zoisite, giving him a slap on the back. "And you were so worried about not having a blade. Good thinking Zo."

"Thanks," Zoisite said a little more numb than Parker was expecting. Then again, they  _were_  looking at the corpse of a monster that shouldn't have existed anymore. Kunzite was waving them down. "I don't get it. Those things should've been long gone by now. Why is it even here?"

"Don't know." Parker replied quietly. "The stars aren't saying anything about why."

Zoisite gave a sigh. Once more he was glowing again. "Come on. Let's get down there."

Parker gave a nod and the two of them teleported off the roof together. They appeared beside Kunzite and Jadeite. It was like their eyes were glued to the youma carcass. The question Zoisite had asked him on the roof loomed in the air in front of all of them. "Youmas collect energy right?" Jadeite pointed out with a thin scowl on his face. Parker's stomach twisted on itself. "So that the person controlling it can fuel something bigger."

"If thing was rampaging in Tokyo then what or  _who_  was it collecting energy for?" Kunzite finished Jadeite's thought.

They all exchanged looks. It didn't matter much. None of them had the answer to that question or to any of the others. They lapsed into an uneasy silence as they stared at the fallen youma. Parker clenched and unclenched his hands nervously.

A shrill laugh broke the silence. If Parker had thought that the antenna breaking off its holdings was ear grating then this was like nails on a chalkboard. He knew that laugh. They  _all_ knew that laugh. It had rung through the halls at the end of the Silver Millennium, taunting them. It had been the last thing that they had all heard right before dying. What's more, they all  _hated_ the woman that laugh belonged to. Dread pierced through his chest. He should've been asking how it was even possible. After everything that had happened that night though, Parker was pretty sure he should just stop asking that particular question.

The air and space beside Zoisite shifted. Deja vu struck Parker like a semi truck. Without thinking, he whipped around and grabbed Zoisite by the collar of his jacket. Zoisite yelped as he was thrown backwards moments before a ripple distorted what must have been the time-space continuum. Kunzite and Jadeite rushed forward, fanning out around Zoisite to protect him from the claws that were slowly emerging from the cut. It only made the old hag laugh even harder.

"Beryl!" hissed Kunzite. His fists were tight. His shoulders tensed up like a spring. "You're looking fairly remarkable for a woman who should've died over a millenia ago."

Parker definitely had to agree. Beryl probably could've made a killing selling her age defying beauty regimen. There was not a single wrinkle or fold in her pale skin. Her eyes were still cold and sharp as the swords she'd pushed through them. Her hair was still stained the vibrant, bloody red it had turned when she'd sold her soul to the devil Metallia. It was as though not a single day had passed for her since she'd murdered them. Talk about completely unfair! Parker had had to go through puberty twice! And high school.

"I could say the same about you my dear Kunzite." Beryl sneered as she looked them all up and down. She readjusted her grasp on her staff. Kunzite jerked. His arms shifted upwards, hands splayed in front of Jadeite and Zoisite.

That was when Parker saw something strange about her figure. Whenever he twisted his head to the side, it was almost like he could see the edges of her dress and shoulders shimmer. Very subtly, he tapped Kunzite on the shoulder. "Magical projection." he muttered under his breath.

Kunzite shifted at the words. Deliberately, he pushed himself in front of Parker. There was a soft rattle as his foot hit a piece of gravel that had been lifted off the street in his battle with the youma. Parker watched carefully as the little rock skittered across the asphalt and rolled  _through_  the bottom of Beryl's skirt. Kunzite's lips ticked upward in a smirk. Okay, new question. Why wasn't Beryl here in person? The last time they'd met with her and the Dark Kingdom she'd actually been, well, there!

"Maybe I spoke a bit too soon Beryl. It seems as though you weren't kind enough to come see us in person." Kunzite told her.

The sneer fell from Beryl's face. A cold, dark look replaced it. "My, my you noticed rather quickly."

"I'm one of the best warriors of the Golden Kingdom… or did you forget?"

"I seem to remember killing you and your men. Then I killed your precious Endymion and laid waste to the Moon Kingdom and all the Moon Queen's allies."

A wave of nausea hit Parker. The words didn't surprise him. Not in the least given Beryl's undying hatred for the Moon Princess and all that she had… including Endymion's love. Hearing her say the words aloud though, listening to her declare them so openly, turned Parker's stomach. To know with unerring certainty that Beryl had been responsible for the death of Endymion, the Moon Princess, and the Sailor Senshi made his blood boil in his veins. So much senseless death!

"You ugly, miserable…" Zoisite spat. He surged to his feet, definitely intending to charge Beryl. Kunzite grabbed his shoulder before he could get anywhere close to Beryl's projection. Zoisite strained in his grip.

"You sound so pleased with yourself." Kunzite said coldly. He drew himself up to his full height, shoulders back and eyes straight ahead. "With that sort of confidence it makes me wonder why exactly you aren't here to face us personally. After all… if we were all so easy to kill the first time around then why not just do it again? We have no real weapons save our magic and wits so what could possibly be deterring you?"

Beryl growled at the voice and tone of a general. Her hand tightened around the staff she was holding. It wasn't like she could actually throw spells at them as a projection. Kunzite didn't allow her the chance to say anything. A thin and mirthless smile spread across his face. "Don't you think it's strange men?"

"Absolutely." Parker nodded.

" _Oui_." Zoisite said at the same time Jadeite replied, " _Shì._ "

Kunzite waved his hand in the air in front of him. "Unless the Moon Queen managed to do something to you and Metallia before she died. Let me guess. She used the  _Ginzuishou_  and crippled your powers didn't she. Beat you back underneath your rock so hard that you're still trying to collect energy to return yourself and Metallia back to full power."

"Leeching off of humanity just like you always have." Zoisite told her.

"Not much has changed has it." Jadeite agreed.

"Only now she's too weak to threaten us directly." Parker said.

"Weak," Kunzite paused for a heartbeat's length, "and scared."

Parker couldn't help it. He laughed. Threw his head back and everything. Through his tears he saw Jadeite snickering too. "The big, bad witch is actually scared of us?" Zoisite crowed. "Four barely awakened teenaged  _boys_  that just remembered how to use magic. That's pretty sad."

"Silence you fools!" screamed Beryl. She slammed her staff on to the ground. There was no effect where they stood. However, the vengeful look in her eyes and the furious cutting tone of her voice killed his laughter. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. All the joking and mocking that they'd thrown at her was gone. Beryl levelled her gaze at them. "I'll give you one chance. One chance  _only_! Join me! Help me find that cursed Ginzuishou and Golden Crystal and raise Metallia. Together we can bring our planet back to its former glory. The glory that was blackened by Queen Serenity and her frail little daughter."

Something clicked in the back of Parker's mind. The Ginzuishou was Princess Serenity's birthright as the Golden Crystal was Endymion's. If the two crystals still existed was it possible that their owners had been as well? It had to be possible! Look at them, the Shitennou!

"I can safely say that I speak for all four of us on this," started Kunzite. "We would rather die than serve you or the demon you call Metallia."

For a long, tense moment, Beryl said nothing. Not a single sound escaped her lips. "Suit yourselves then." she told them simply. "I will see you all crushed once more then."

"I'm not so sure about that." Kunzite shot back.

"This time will be much different than before." added Zoisite. He rolled his shoulders back and glared at Beryl.

"We'll be ready for you." Jadeite told her as he came to stand in line with Kunzite and Zoisite.

Parker stepped up next to them, hand curling into a fist. "It will be you who'll be crushed this time around Beryl."

"Mark our words. We'll be looking just as hard for the Golden Crystal and Ginzuishou… and their owners. You. Will. Fall!"

Once more Beryl sneered, "A challenge then? Very well. Consider your words marked General Kunzite. I'll make you all wish that you'd joined me when you'd had the chance."

"We doubt it." they all said at once with venom on their tongues.

Beryl's face contorted in pure anger. However, that was all they saw. In a bright, blinding flash and deafening boom, she disappeared. Everyone dropped back and turned their heads away. For several long minutes no one said a word. They all stared at the spot that Beryl had disappeared from. The presence of magic was gone. The lingering presence from the youma had dissipated as well.

"So, uh… you guys have names this time around or are we just going to keep on going by the names of rocks?" Zoisite said, breaking the silence with cheshire smile.

* * *


	5. Amal (Kunzite)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so this is technically the last part however, I think I'm going to write an epilogue to post along with it. I do want to continue the story/AU but I'm not sure exactly when it would be posted. Hopefully it is sooner rather than later but with stories such as the one I have in mind I like to have mostly completed if not fully written before posting. I think I might make it a point to focus on it so I can post it. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter!

Amal leaned back in his seat as he watched his friends talk with one another like no time had passed since the last time they'd seen each other. If he closed his eyes it was almost like he was sitting in their quarters in the Golden Palace and not in a tiny booth at the Crown Cafe and Arcade. If his classmates could see him  _now_  they'd have had a coronary! No trace of uptight Amal in sight. He hid his smile behind his milkshake as he took a drink. He had no idea how he was even going to leave them at the end of the night let alone in the morning when he had to fly back to Egypt.

Jadeite, or rather Yun-qi, sat catty-corner to him eyeing the games on the other side of the Crown. He'd already figured out that the place was only a few blocks away from the apartment he'd be staying at while attending school here in the city. Nephrite, Parker from Northern California, was sitting beside him and busily showed off the pictures on his phone of his parents, little sister Jenny, and the teammates on his American football team. Apparently he was already in huge trouble for not inviting his friends along on his Japanese adventure and his sister was only going to forgive him if he got her a "good" souvenir. Zoisite, Rene this time around, was just as exuberant as he had been in his past life. He sat beside Amal and every time the waiter, Motoki, walked past he would smile handsomely. Motoki remained completely oblivious and all of them were snickering at his attempts. Rene shot them glares each time.

The only thing that was missing was the fifth man of their group. Endymion. Amal could feel his absence hanging over his head like a giant unanswered question. No matter how he tried to push it aside, Endymion was not an easy person to forget. Not even for a handful of hours. There might as well have been a hole in his chest. The milkshake in his hands suddenly tasted like sand. "Are you okay Amal?" Rene asked, catching sight of the grim look on his face before he had a chance to hide it again.

"I don't want to worry about it now." he said simply.

"A lot happened tonight…" Parker ventured. "Maybe we… maybe we should talk about it now that we've all had some time to, you know, process everything."

"The Dark Kingdom still exists. It didn't die with the Silver Millennium." added Yun-qi. "We came back too. I wonder, do you think…"

"You're all wondering what or  _who_  else came back to." Amal supplied.

Everyone shifted in their seats. The light mood was gone. Parker had put away his phone. Yun-qi was no longer looking over at the game consoles. Rene fiddled with a knife at the side of his plate. Yun-qi met Amal's gaze evenly and said, "We all heard what Beryl said. The Golden Crystal and the Ginzuishou are here on Earth somewhere. Something had to bring us back."

"The Golden Crystal most likely." Rene mumbled. "Our powers were closer to it than the Ginzuishou. Us being from Terra and all that fun stuff. It would also explain why we have the sudden magical ability to understand and speak Japanese."

"Terran language, Terran magic. I get it. I'd bet everything I have that the owners of the crystals are back too." Parker told them. "It would make sense."

"I agree. It does make sense. I'd go a step further and wager that Endymion at the very least is somewhere here in Tokyo." Amal told them.

Rene raised his eyebrow, "How can you be so sure?"

"Simple… we were all drawn here to Tokyo. Whoever he is now, he probably lives somewhere close."

"Do you think he's aware of who he really is?" Parker asked.

"It's hard to say."

Rene shook his head, "Do you really think if he knew he was the heir of Terra that he'd have just let a relic from the Dark Kingdom rampage through his backyard? There's no way he'd have stayed away. Endymion would've been right there with us in that fight. He's probably clueless."

Yun-qi and Parker nodded in agreement. Amal found it hard not to agree as well. "The Moon Princess… Beryl specifically said something about the Ginzuishou." Yun-qi said. "Are we really sure that it's Princess Serenity that's back and not her mother. The Queen held possession of the Ginzuishou."

"There's no way that the Moon Queen would give herself a second chance at life when there was a possibility that her daughter could  _live_  again instead." Amal told them.

His friends fell quiet as they thought it over. The Moon Queen's love for her daughter had been well known. It had been part of the reason that the Princess and Endymion's love had been branded as forbidden. Her Majesty had spent years ensuring that her only child and heir was well protected. Her entire court, her closest friends, were trained as lethal warriors. Battle tested and proved. Contemporaries of they themselves, the Shitennou. Princess Serenity was the entire universe to the Moon Queen. Or had been. No, the Queen would've given up any chance at being reborn in favor of her beloved child.

Princess Serenity  _lived_. Amal was sure of it.

"Hey," Rene's voice cut through the silence but it was barely above a whisper. Amal and the others looked over at him. His face was downcast with his hair pulled over his shoulder to help hide it. He still played with the knife on the table, spinning it on the surface absentmindedly. His unoccupied hand tightened into a fist.

"Rene what is it?" asked Amal.

Rene said nothing. Yun-qi rested his hand on Rene's shoulder. Parker nudged his foot underneath the table. Amal looked at him in concern. "Tell us." he urged quietly.

"If we're sure that both Endymion and Princess Serenity have been reborn then do you… do you guys think it's possible that…" Rene's voice trailed off.

Tension rose around the table between them all. Yun-qi and Parker's faces all contorted in a separate but shared pain. Amal's own heart physically ached. Golden hair pulled back into a single, simple orange bow and a smile he'd work so hard to see danced through his mind. Not a single one of them wanted to finish Rene's question. Amal took the bullet though. "That the Guardian Senshi have been reborn as well?"

"Yeah," nodded Rene. He didn't sound hopeful. Not at all.

"You're the genius. Why don't you tell us?" Yun-qi mumbled under his breath as he now fiddled with the straw wrapper by his cup.

Parker closed his eyes and shook his head, "The stars are completely silent. They might as well be completely mute."

Amal could feel the despair mounting around him. Including in his own chest.

"It could be  _possible_." he finally said. Everyone snapped around to face him. He set his face against the building pressure. This was a logical assumption wasn't it? "We were reborn weren't we? It could be possible that the Senshi were too."

"Do you really think it's possible?" pressed Parker. His eyes were wide as he leaned closer to Amal.

"There's no way of being certain. We'll have to wait to see what happens. Only time will tell." Amal told him.

"I don't want to wait and see what happens." Rene said petulantly. He bore holes into the table with his glare. "I want to know  _now_."

"Yeah, well that isn't going to happen." snapped Yun-qi. His hand tightened into a fist on the table. "You're just going to have to stick it out like the rest of us."

"That's easy for you to say. You didn't argue with Princess Mars right before you left." Rene hissed. Yun-qi immediately ducked his head and winced. Amal reached out and squeezed Rene's shoulder. No one said anything about the fact that he looked as he was on the verge of crying. "The last thing I ever said to Phoebe… I screamed it at her. I don't even remember what I even said. I just know I hurled it at her like a knife. She screamed back too. Whatever it was we were fighting about, I hope it was important."

Amal squeezed Rene's shoulder, trying to infuse every ounce of support he could into that one gesture. Parker reached over, taking Rene's hand tightly. "We won't give up hope. It isn't in our nature." he murmured.

"Yeah," Yun-qi agreed. His voice shook as he spoke.

Amal swallowed the lump in his throat. "In the meantime, we'll do what we have to. We keep an eye out for the Dark Kingdom. We stop youmas and slow Beryl down until we can find her and put an end to her once and for all. We'll find Endymion and the Golden Crystal. We'll protect him, regardless of whether he's aware of who we are or not. We look for the Moon Princess and the Ginzuishou. When we find her… we protect her. If it were the Senshi in our place it's what Cytherea would do."

"Hemera would do the same." Yun-qi added.

Parker nodded, "As would Juno."

"Phoebe would as well." Rene said. He shifted, sitting taller in his seat. A new determination had taken over them. Amal could feel the underlying sense of purpose running through them.

"Then it's settled." Amal nodded decisively.

"Where do we start?" Rene asked. He finally perked up.

"We were all pulled here to Tokyo, Japan for a reason. We were destined to meet here. If we're right then it's because Endymion lives nearby." he said.

Parker closed his eyes for a moment. "The stars agree. Endymion is close. Probably in this city."

"And wherever Endymion is… Princess Serenity isn't far off." Rene added. He had a mischievous smile on his face. The way he waggled his eyebrows also made it clear that there had quite clearly been a double meaning in his words.

Yun-qi glared at him. "Is sex and love really all you think about?" he growled.

"Dearest Yun! It's the only thing that matters." Rene shrugged as he waved his hand through the air dismissively. The mischievous smile on his face never faltered.

"It's Yun-qi." he growled again, face turning bright red.

"Anyway, it's better than thinking about video games all the time you lazy sack of baguettes." Rene said loftily.

"Why you little!" spat Yun-qi as he started across the table. Parker grabbed him by the back of the shirt and hauled him back into his seat.

"Just like old times isn't it Amal?" smirked Parker. Yun-qi was still struggling to climb across the table to wrap his hands around Rene's neck.

" _Allahuma thabetna_ ," Amal groaned. He ground his forehead into his hand vigorously, trying to massage away the irritation of Rene and Yun-qi's eternal rivalry. Someone give him strength. He loved these men but it was too soon to be worrying about them trying to kill one another. "Yes, it seems like some things never change. Behave Rene. Don't antagonize Yun-qi."

"His flirting and romance has always been lacking. Maybe that's why he's so uptight about it all." Rene replied easily. Yun-qi immediately began to bristle again.

"And we all know that your flirting is parallel to none." Amal said. He quirked an eyebrow.

"Of course." smirked Rene. He sound rather high and mighty.

"Hm… is that so then. I found it rather lacking earlier." Amal told him simply before taking a sip of his milkshake.

Rene turned bright scarlet all the way from the roots of his hair to the tips of his ears. He'd fallen for the bait. Hook, line, and sinker. Parker and Yun-qi turned to gawk at him with jaws on the table. "You… you flirted…" started Parker.

"You  _flirted_  with Amal? You  _flirted_ with  _Kunzite_!" Yun-qi finished oh so eloquently. Both he and Parker burst out laughing so loud that few patrons there were turned around to look at them curiously.

"Sh… shut up!" stammered Rene, still bright red. Parker and Yun-qi only laughed harder. They had to support each other and were practically falling over on one another. "Yeah. Keep laughing you two  _oies_. I was hoping you hadn't noticed that little bit."

Amal couldn't help  _his_ own mischievous grin. "Oh I noticed. Stop aggravating Yun-qi."

"Yes sir." Rene said. He saluted Amal and settled back into his seat. Yun-qi and Parker were still snickering under the breath. It was time to get serious. Amal looked between his men once.

"Rene I want you to use that genius intellect and start looking into possible places that Beryl could be hiding. I want to know what dark corner she's lurking in before she gains enough strength to move against us." Amal said, pointing directly at Rene.

Rene smirked, "Leave it to me."

Amal pointed to Parker, "Parker, see what you can find out from your divination. Help Rene where you can. What I really want you to focus on is looking into other places that the Dark Kingdom could running operations out of. It would be really stupid of them to just focus on one place. Beryl has her agents collecting energy from elsewhere I'm sure."

"I'll see what I can dig up." Parker grinned. He gave his knuckles a crack.

"Yun-qi, you're staying here in Tokyo this school year correct?" Amal asked.

"I'll be a foreign exchange student at Moto Azabu High School." replied Yun-qi.

"Perfect." Amal said curtly, "You'll stay here and look for leads on Endymion and Princess Serenity."

"What about you Amal? What grand plans do you have?" Parker asked, turning his head to the side.

"First and foremost, I'm going to figure out how to purvey us some real blades. Second of all, I'm going to see if I can determine exactly how much energy might have already been taken from innocent civilians."

Authority seeped into his voice. "Listen to me. All of you. If any one of you starts to feel like you need help…  _tell someone_! The last time we died because we weren't able to stick together and watch each other's backs. That cannot under any circumstance happen this time around. Am I clear?"

"Right," Yun-qi agreed as Rene nodded enthusiastically. Parker on the other hand…

"I mean it Nephrite. Don't do anything stupid." Amal told him. The old name added even more weight to Amal's authority. He felt more like Kunzite in that moment.

"I won't," Parker promised finally.

"Good." Amal sighed in relief as he leaned back in the booth.

Parker smiled. "Beryl's not going to know what hit her."

"Gentlemen," Rene said suddenly as he sat forward. He raised his milkshake into the air. "I propose a toast. To finding old friends and rekindling the bonds that tie us together."

"And may the Dark Kingdom come crashing and burning to the ground underneath our feet." Parker said as he raised his own glass.

"And let Beryl rot in the darkest pit she crawled out of!" Yun-qi grinned. His glass joined the others.

"Long live Prince Endymion and let Elysion rise again." Amal added his own glass to the mix. The sound of ringing glass filled the little arcade along with the laughter of four brothers finally reunited with one another.

 


End file.
